


in most unseemly quiet

by trixstar



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Childhood Friends, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Relationship Study, ish, well the conversations are the focus so yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25443310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixstar/pseuds/trixstar
Summary: They're close as can be, of course they're going to have some difficult conversations.They don't always end well.or: The Faerghus Four and some heavy conversations as the years go by.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 22
Kudos: 112





	in most unseemly quiet

**Author's Note:**

> essentially snippets that entered my mind while writing my last fic ("and they all were fleeting" read it if you haven't hehe) but you dont have to read it to understand this one. like the summary said, the f4 and talking. spoiler alert: they're not that good at it. hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> title taken from the poem "mazeppa" by lord byron

**i.**

Felix wonders if he’s supposed to act different now.

Would it even make sense? He and Ingrid have known each other since they were toddlers. Should the announcement of the engagement change anything?

“So,” Felix begins, only a little stilted, “you and Glenn.”

Ingrid pauses from picking flowers. Uncharacteristic of her when Sylvain and Dimitri are playfighting right _there_. It’s what makes him broach the topic in the first place. How odd it is.

Since she’s his sister-in-law now apparently, shouldn’t he be concerned?

“Glenn and I,” Ingrid repeats, monotone. “What about us, Felix?”

Felix crosses his arms. “How do you feel about it?”

“What do you think?”

She sounds so tired, _exhausted_. He doesn’t like it.

“...I don’t think you’re too happy about it.” Sylvain and Dimitri had thought so too, but Felix is the only one brave enough to say it.

Ingrid sighs, clutching her flowers tight. “It’s my duty. I’ll have to be happy about it eventually.”

She looked so _sad_ and he hated it.

Felix is silent then, uncertain. He doesn’t know what to say. He was never good at dealing with these kinds of things.

But he tries.

He crouches down to her level before patting her on the shoulder. It’s awkward, but he hopes his sincerity comes across.

“...I’m here for you, okay?”

Ingrid finally meets his eyes, grinning for real for the first time in weeks.

“Thank you, Felix.”

He leaves the palace with a flower crown that day.

**ii.**

Sylvain’s not quite sure how to handle this.

Felix had already shut him out, yelled at Sylvain to leave him alone. Ingrid had reacted much the same, refusing his company as tears streamed down her face.

He’s honestly not sure if he should even bother with Dimitri.

Yet here he is, outside his bedroom door only hours after putting the king, Glenn, and countless others in the ground.

He knocks softly. “Your h- Dimitri?”

There is no answer. Sylvain second-guesses himself again.

“...Can I come in?”

He expects more silence, but, to his surprise, the door creaks open, sounding eerie and ominous. It doesn’t bode well with him.

“I’m coming in, Dima.”

He enters quietly and sees Dimitri’s small, shaking form under the covers of the enormous bed. The sight makes his heart clench. He takes a seat on the mattress.

“...Want to talk about it?”

It’s a stupid question honestly. Felix hadn’t wanted to. Ingrid hadn’t wanted to. Miklan had only brought it up to sneer-

Dimitri’s face pops up from the blankets, tear-streaked and looking utterly _haunted_. Sylvain is taken aback for a second.

“There are so many voices, Sylvain,” Dimitri rasps out. “ _So many_.”

Sylvain pauses. What was the right way to handle this? Did it even exist? He doesn’t know what to do.

So he settles for a hug and hopes it is enough. He never knows what is these days.

He falls asleep to the sound of Dimitri’s crazed whispers against his chest, feeling more unsure than he’s ever been before.

**iii.**

“Your form is much better than Glenn’s was.”

As soon as the words escape Ingrid’s mouth, a part of her wants to take them back.

Felix freezes from where he is slashing at a training dummy. Just for a split second, but Ingrid notices anyway.

“...I know,” he says a moment later in his usual brusque way before taking another slice, powerful and calculated as always.

She feels relief fill her. Her grip on her lance relaxes. “Of course you do.”

Another slash. Felix doesn’t respond.

Ingrid is smart enough to leave it at that.

**iv.**

He had only meant well, he swears.

Okay, maybe not. It was only a joke, but you’d think he’d know better considering _everything._ Because now Ingrid's voice is raised and things are decidedly _bad_.

“Ingrid, forget about it. I was just saying whatever, okay?” He raises his hands in surrender.

“No.” Ingrid’s glare is scathing. “Elaborate, Sylvain. What exactly did you mean by _‘What if we just got married?’_ ”

Sylvain flinches. Goddess, why had he said it like that?

“Is something as binding and sacred as marriage just a joke to you?”

“Ing, no, come on, I was just kidd-“

“You know I don’t like jokes about these things, Sylvain.”

“I didn’t think-“

“Yes, you _never_ do!” Ingrid bursts out, face red with anger.

Before Sylvain can get a word in, Ingrid releases a long-suffering sigh and fixes him with a _look_. Sylvain’s never liked _that_ look.

“We’ll talk later,” is all she says before storming out of the training grounds.

Sylvain sighs and stares after her, wondering why he never learns.

**v.**

Dimitri doesn’t expect to run into anyone so late at night.

No one’s ever out of their rooms at this hour. Well... almost. He’s seen Hubert lurking the halls once or twice. It always took a lot in Dimitri not to yelp in surprise.

It’s not Hubert he runs into this time though.

“Are you going to move, boar?”

Felix stares at him, looking sour as always.

Dimitri is unfazed. He simply moves aside. This isn’t new. This is just Felix.

“My apologies, Felix. I was just coming from the bathr-“

“I don’t care.”

Felix stalks past him angrily and Dimitri is about to let the whole thing slide before he _notices_.

Without thinking, he grabs Felix’s arm and feels it stiffen immediately. He’s crossing a line, he knows, but he is too alarmed to care.

“Were you crying?”

Felix rips his arm out of Dimitri’s grasp, as if he’d been burned. Dimitri’s thankful he hadn’t been holding him too hard or that definitely would’ve hurt. The sight of Felix’s puffy eyes distracts him.

“That’s none of your business.” Felix’s tone is _venomous_.

Without another word, he walks away. Fast-paced and deliberately not looking back.

Like a bat out of hell, Dimitri would say.

He stares down at the hand that had grabbed Felix so roughly and sighs.

**vi.**

Ingrid’s never struggled this much with words before.

“Your majesty, would you grant me the honor of- _no_.” She holds a hand to her face in agony. That was too detached. “Your majesty, please- ugh.” Please? Really? Had she not projected her desperation enough?

She flinches when the door of the throne room opens and hastens to fix her posture as Dimitri and Byleth exit.

He must see the look in her eyes because he tells their former professor to go ahead and fixes Ingrid with an expectant stare when Byleth is no longer within earshot.

“Yes, Ingrid?” He asks, earnest. So very _Dimitri_ despite all that has happened.

It’s comfortingly familiar.

Maybe that’s why she finally finds the words.

“Your majesty,” she begins, kneeling, “will you grant me the honor of serving by your side as your knight?”

Simple. Sincere. So very Ingrid.

Dimitri blinks before fixing her a smile, bright and beautiful.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> im proud of this bc it's short yes. kudos and comments appreciated!
> 
> [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/trixstarsss)


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